The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating the Gum-Gum Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece", and take over his prior title.

Luffy sets sail as captain of the Straw Hat Pirates,[Jp 15] and is joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman and former bounty hunter; Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook.

As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman.

Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, scientists, soldiers of the morally ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

[6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.

[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading.

Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.

The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.

[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.

[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.

[32] The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.

[44] Oda collaborated with Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, author of Toriko, for a crossover one-shot of their series titled Taste of the Devil Fruit (実食!

The spin-off series One Piece Party (ワンピースパーティー, Wan Pīsu Pātī), written by Ei Andō in a super deformed art style, began serialization in Saikyō Jump on December 5, 2011.

[50] The One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0 original video animation adapts the manga's special "Chapter 0", which shows how things were before and after the death of Roger.

[62] On May 19, 2020, producer Marty Adelstein revealed during an interview with SyFy Wire, that the series was originally set to begin filming in Cape Town sometime around August, but has since been delayed to around September due to COVID-19.

[65] In November 2021, it was announced that the casting for the series includes Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji.

[66][67] In March 2022, Netflix added Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Vincent Regan as Garp and Peter Gadiot as Shanks to the cast in recurring roles.

[103] From April 25 to May 18, 2025, Universal Studios Hollywood will open the One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering attraction based on the series, as part of the Fan Fest Nights event.

Other cast members included Four Continents champion Nobunari Oda, Kazuki Tomono, Keijii Tanaka, Koshiro Shimada, and Rika Hongo.

[169] Allen Divers of Anime News Network comments in 2003 that the art style One Piece employs "initially seems very cartoonish with much of the character designs showing more North American influence than that from its Japanese origins", adding that the "artwork and settings come across as timeless in their presentation".

He also notes that the influence of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) shines through in Oda's style of writing with its "huge epic battles punctuated by a lot of humor" and that, in One Piece, he "manages to share a rich tale without getting bogged down by overly complicated plots".

[172] Mario Vuk from Splash Comics commented that Oda's "pleasantly bright and dynamic" art style suits the story's "funny and exciting" atmosphere.

[173] Isaiah Colbert of Kotaku called One Piece a "masterpiece", highlighting Oda's character writing, world-building and the balance between "fun and serious subject matter".

[174] Dale Bashir of IGN wrote that One Piece is more about the world-building, adventuring, and the meaning of freedom instead of the "usual shonen battling" from series like Dragon Ball and Naruto.

"[175] EX Media lauds Oda's art for its "crispy" monochrome pictures, "great use of subtle shade changes" on color pages, "sometimes exquisite" use of angles, and for its consistency.

[176] Shaenon K. Garrity, who at some point edited the series for English Shonen Jump, said that, while doing so, her amazement over Oda's craft grew steadily.

She states that "he has a natural, playful mastery of the often restrictive weekly-manga format," notes that "interesting things [are] going on deep in the narrative structure," and recommends "sticking through to the later volumes to see just how crazy and Peter Max-y the art gets".

[177] Mania Entertainment writer Jarred Pine commented: "One Piece is a fun adventure story, with an ensemble cast that is continuing to develop, with great action and character drama."

[179] After the release of the hundredth volume, Weekly Shonen Jump's editor-in-chief, Hiroyuki Nakano, explained how One Piece changed the history of manga and the way of making it.

[221][222] At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Greek athlete Miltiadis Tentoglou performed a "Gear Second" pose before winning a gold medal in the men's long jump competition.